To face the growing threat of China, the Corps is getting smaller, lighter and and more mobile.
As part of the new force design the Corps is working to add a new type of regiment to the fleet ― a Marine littoral regiment.
The new regiment will consist of a combat team, a logistics element and an anti-air battalion, focused on increasing the Marine Corps' capabilities on the small islands and atolls that dot the Pacific Ocean, Marine Corps Times previously reported.
To determine the final makeup of the regiment the Corps is launching a three-year experiment to find out what works and what does not, Maj. Gen. Kevin Iiams told reporters at a Tuesday media roundtable as part of the Modern Day Marine expo being held virtually from Quantico, Virginia.
“We want to make sure that we stay informed with where the actual Marines who are employing the MLR are seeing the gaps and the seems and the fruition of the MLR,” he added.
The tentative plan is to turn the 3rd Marine Regiment based on Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, into the experimental 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, Iiams said.
In addition to infantry Marines, logistics forces already based in Hawaii will be added to the regiment along with anti-air elements that are currently stationed on the mainland United States, Iiams added.
“We’ll put that all in, we’ll do some experimentation over the next couple of years out there in Hawaii to see what this will look like for a for an MLR,” Iiams said.
“Then inform that back as we need to make continual changes for future pieces of equipment that we may need to reinforce gaps that we find or change the overarching construct if that is what needs to be done,” he added.
